Proclaiming the Eternal Gospel

May 18, 1999

"Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the fountains of water'" (Revelation 14:6-7 RSV).

Dear Beloved Family of God:

God continues to bless His children with the abundant life as the Good News of Jesus continues to build up and excite the churches. The time has come upon all of us to take a more aggressive approach in an out reach to the denominational churches. For the past few weeks I have been encouraged by a number of churches of Christ and their Preachers who are interested in our efforts to help the denominational churches in a move toward restoring all churches worldwide. Our Evangelists, Preachers, and Missionaries worldwide are beginning to see the great reality and responsibility in assisting all believers in a move toward the restoration of the Lord's church.

We can no longer keep the pattern of New Testament Christianity to ourselves, and continue living in an isolated church. The world hungers and thirsts for righteousness and the truth about Jesus and His church. A number of churches of Christ worldwide have expressed that they are interested in replicating what we are currently doing in Crystal City, Texas.

Preachers are asking, how are you able to preach to the denominational churches from their pulpits? What do you preach to them? How is it they respond so enthusiastically to the message? How are you able to make contact with their church leadership? Are you ever invited to return to preach? The answers to these questions are quite simple. With much prayer and with God's blessings I simply go to visit these churches (after our services) during their worship and Bible studies to meet their preacher. Each and every time I do this the Preachers and other church leaders ask me to preach. That's right! At each and every time that I have walked in through their doors for the first time I am asked to preach the Word of Almighty God. Believe me when I tell you this for it is true. This may sound hard to believe, but it is the truth. God will do anything that we ask of Him in Jesus name if we are truly living to do His will and baring much fruit. Each and every time I visit the denominational churches I go with the confidence in our God that He will allow me to preach, and He does allow me these requests each and every time. God makes it that easy, and it is fun. The messages that I take to these churches revolve around the issue of restoring the churches to the way of Jesus. I continue to be invited back each and every time I preach. A local Baptist Preacher and their Deacons said that I do not need a special invitation to preach for them, but simply show up with a message from the Holy Scriptures of God for their members to hear.

Jesus said, "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7 RSV). This past Sunday night after our evening service I went to visit for the second time the Apostolic Missionary Church here in Crystal City, Texas. Their worship services were already in progress, and their Preacher calls me to come forward, and he asked me if I would like to preach to the congregation again. I said it would be an honor. The church was pleased to see me again, and their faces were happy and their joy was obvious to me. We do indeed serve a Powerful and Awesome God. At the end of my sermon I made the invitation for anyone to receive the baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and prayer requests. On this night they had a full house attending and there were about sixty people present. Everyone came forward asking for the prayers, and they filled the space between the pulpit and the first row of pews. There was not one person left in the remaining pews. God's Word is powerful. Their preacher invited me to dinner, and to come back anytime and to preach.

For past five years since we first came on-line to the world via the Internet, I have been saying that the name we bare is a name that the entire Christian world identifies with. The name churches of Christ is a name that many in our churches take for granted, and we must repent of this. What we take for granted others do not, and they see our presence on the Internet as worthy of their interest and investigation. As a result many have come to know Jesus, and Jesus has added them to His church. We have the truth, but most of our members are content in keeping the truth to themselves. In an age in which Christians in our churches are looking for change some are seeking ways to bring denominationalism into our churches, and this is troubling. Most denominational churches are also looking for change, but their desire for change is different. They are tired of denominationalism. They seek to change their churches with the idea of becoming more and more like the first century church of the New Testament. We on the other hand must also realize that we too need to become more and more like the New Testament church in the area of soul winning and world evangelism, and there are other areas for improvement.

Our plea for maintaining the churches of Christ like Jesus wants is finally giving way to a real dynamic movement for true restoration of all churches. As a Pentecostal Preacher recently said to me, "we don't need to meet together as an 'ecumenical movement', but rather as a group of Believers who seek to bring unity and greater knowledge about the message of Jesus to everyone who calls upon His name.

My question to our Preachers worldwide is this: What is keeping you from taking the message of Jesus to the Denominational churches? I believe that the greatest obstacle for our Preachers is the fear of being rejected by the Denominational churches and their leadership, or a lack of confidence in Almighty God's ability to answer this type of prayer. I do not want to believe that our men of God are unwilling to reach out to others who call upon the name of Jesus. There are many believers today such as the example of Apollos mentioned in Acts 18:24-26, and I am grateful to know that in the first century there were Christians such as Priscilla and Aquila who were not afraid to share the more accurate way of God even with an eloquent man who is well versed in the Holy Scriptures.

It is my prayer that we begin to eliminate the fear of walking by faith alone, and embrace the idea of standing out on the promises of Almighty God and Jesus. The churches of Christ must come together and seriously begin challenging one another to love and good works that will win others to the more accurate way of God. Our God is indeed an Awesome God, and He is worthy of our worship and service. Give Him Glory for the Second Coming of Jesus is nearer to us than what most Christians think.

Calling the believers to return to the pattern of New Testament Christianity is a joy and an honor that Almighty God gives to me. You too can also share in this joy as you see for yourselves that the "Christian World" is crying out to God for a better way, and God is answering their prayers. Please do your best to be a part of God's solution instead of being indifferent. Humanity is in dire need of the saving message of Jesus, and the doors to the denominational churches are open. What will you do?

For more details regarding our efforts to restore the churches in Crystal City, Texas to the pattern of New Testament Christianity visit our web site at http://church-of-christ.org/CrystalCity/newsletter. Please remember me in your prayers.

May the grace of God, the love of Jesus, and the peace of the Holy Spirit be with you and your family forever.

Your brother in Christ Jesus,

E-mail questions or comments to: garcia@church-of-christ.org

The church of Christ at Crystal City

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Last updated on 5/18/1999